System, method, infrastructure, and vehicle for automated valet parking

ABSTRACT

An automated parking system and a method enables a vehicle to autonomously travel to and parks in a vacant parking slot based on communication with a parking infrastructure. In addition, the automated parking system and method for a driverless vehicle is capable of autonomously traveling from a parking slot to a pickup area via communication with the parking infrastructure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of non-provisional U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/678,559, filed on Nov. 8, 2019, which claimspriority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0137309, filed on Nov. 9, 2018, the entire contents of each ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a system, method, infrastructure, andvehicle for performing automated valet parking.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Many modern cities suffer from various problems associated with vehicleparking. For example, there is a risk of a car collision in a parkinglot. For parking in crowded places such as large shopping centers, ittakes long time and much energy to park a car due to traffic congestionbefore entering a parking lot. In addition, it takes long time and muchenergy to locate a vacant parking slot even after entering a parkinglot. In addition, there is inconvenience that a driver has to walk to aspot at which his or her vehicle is parked when leaving the visited areaor that sometimes the driver forgets where the vehicle is parked.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides an automated valet parking method inwhich a vehicle autonomously travels to and parks in a vacant parkingslot after the vehicle stops in a drop-off area at which the driverexits the vehicle.

The present disclosure also provides an automated valet parking methodin which when a driver claims his or her vehicle to leave a visitedarea, the vehicle that is parked in a parking slot autonomously travelsfrom the parking slot to a pickup area at which the driver convenientlygets in the vehicle to leave the parking lot.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an automated valetparking method includes: initiating an automated valet parkingprocedure; transmitting, by a parking infrastructure, a target positionand a guide route to the target position; performing, by the vehicle,autonomous driving to the target position along the guide route;performing, by the vehicle, autonomous parking to the target position;and ending the automated valet parking procedure.

The target position may include a destination to be reached by thevehicle, and the destination may include a vacant parking slot in aparking lot.

The target position may include a destination to be reached by thevehicle, and the destination may include a specific spot near a vacantparking slot in a parking lot.

The vehicle autonomously may park to the target position using anadvanced driver assistance system (ADAS) after reacting the specificspot.

The ADAS may include a partially automated parking system (PAPS).

The guide route may be information including distances and vehicleoperations, and the vehicle operations may include traveling forward,traveling backward, turning left, and turning right.

The guide route may include a parking lot map in which a plurality ofwaypoints and one target position are present.

The method may further include: determining, by an infrastructure, thetarget position and the guide route, and transmitting the targetposition and the guide route to the vehicle.

The transmitting the target position and the guide route may include:generating an virtual leading vehicle, generating an virtual lane, andtransmitting the virtual leading vehicle and the virtual lane.

The performing of the autonomous driving may include activating theADAS.

The ADAS may include an adaptive cruise control (ACC) unit and a lanefollowing assist (LFA) unit.

The performing of the autonomous parking may include activating theADAS.

The ADAS may include a partially automated parking system (PAPS).

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now bedescribed various forms thereof, given by way of example, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an automated valet parking system;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an autonomous valet parking apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view illustrating an automated valet parkingsystem and method;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating operations for automated valetparking performed by an infrastructure and a vehicle that work with eachother;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a communication process performed by avehicle and an infrastructure for automated valet parking;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a communication process performed by avehicle and an infrastructure for automated valet parking;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a communication process performed by avehicle and an infrastructure for automated valet parking; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an automated valet parking methodaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Itshould be understood that throughout the drawings, correspondingreference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

Herein below, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Theconstruction and operational effect of the present disclosure will beclearly understood from the following detailed description. Prior todescribing the exemplary embodiments in detail, it is noted that adetailed description about existing components and functions is omittedwhen the subject matter of the present disclosure may be obscured by thedescription.

It is also noted that terms used in the detailed description of thepresent disclosure are defined below.

The term “driver” refers to a person who uses an automated valet parkingservice provided by an automated valet parking system.

The term “driving authority” refers to the authority to drive andcontrol a vehicle. The term “vehicle operation” refers to an operationsuch as steering, accelerating, braking, gear shifting, vehiclestarting, and door locking and unlocking of a vehicle.

The term “vehicle” refers to a vehicle having an automated valet parkingfeature.

The term “control center” refers to a facility that can monitor vehiclesparked in a parking garage or facility, which determines a targetposition, a guide route, and a permitted driving area, and whichtransmits a driving start instruction or an emergency stop instructionto a vehicle.

The term “infrastructure” refers to a parking facility and includessensors. Alternatively, the infrastructure refers to a control centerthat controls a parking lot gate, vehicles in a parking lot, etc.

The term “target position” refers to a vacant parking slot available forparking. Alternatively, the term “target position” refers to a pickuparea where a driver gets in his or her vehicle in a situation when thedriver leaves the parking lot.

The term “guide route” refers to a route along which a vehicle travelsto reach a target position. For example, at the time of parking avehicle, the guide route is a route along which the vehicle travelsuntil reaching a vacant parking space after starting from a drop-offarea. For example, the guide route is provided in the form ofinstructions, for example, “traveling forward a distance of 50 m andturning left at the corner”.

The term “driving route” refers to a driving path along which a vehicletravels.

The term “permitted driving area” refers to an area where a vehicle cantravel in a parking lot. For example, the permitted driving areaincludes the driving route. The permitted driving area is defined withbarrier walls, parked vehicles, parking lines, etc.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an automated valet parking systemaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG.1, an automated valet parking system 10 includes an infrastructure 100and an autonomous valet parking apparatus 200.

The infrastructure 100 refers to a facility or system for operating,managing, and controlling an automated valet parking system. Forexample, the infrastructure 100 may be a parking facility. According toembodiments, the infrastructure 100 includes sensors, communicationdevices, alarm devices, display devices, and a server device thatcontrols those devices. Alternatively, the infrastructure refers to acontrol center that controls a parking lot gate, vehicles in a parkinglot, etc.

The autonomous valet parking apparatus 200 refers to a vehicle that canperform automated valet parking. According to embodiments, theautonomous valet parking apparatus 200 refers to a component or a set ofcomponents capable of performing automated valet parking.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an autonomous valet parking apparatusaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG.2, the autonomous valet parking apparatus 200 (i.e., vehicle) includes asensor 210, a transceiver 220, a processor 230, and a vehicle controller240.

The sensor 210 monitors the surroundings of the autonomous valet parkingapparatus 200. According to one form, the sensor 210 measures thedistance between the autonomous valet parking apparatus 200 and aspecific object or detects an object that is present around theautonomous valet parking apparatus 200. For example, the sensor 210includes at least one-type of sensor selected from among an ultrasonicsensor, a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, a camera, an infrared sensor, athermal sensor, and a millimeter wave sensor.

The sensor 210 transmits data that is the detection results of thesensor 210 to the transceiver 220 or to the vehicle controller 230.

The transceiver 220 communicates the data with the infrastructure 100.This communication is called vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)communication. The transceiver 220 communicates the data with othervehicles. This communication is called vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communication. The V2I communication and the V2V communication arecollectively called vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. In oneform, the transceiver 220 receives the data (for example, a targetposition, a guide rote, a driving route, instructions, etc.) from theinfrastructure 100, processes the received data, and transmits theprocessed data to the processor 230. The transceiver 220 transmits datacollected and generated by the vehicle 200 to the infrastructure 100.According to embodiments, the transceiver 220 communicates the data withthe terminal device of the driver of the vehicle 200.

The transceiver 220 receives and transmits the data according to awireless communication protocol or a cable communication protocol.Examples of the wireless communication protocol include, not limitedly,wireless LAN (WLAN), digital living network alliance (DLNA), wirelessbroadband (Wibro), world interoperability for microwave access (Wimax),global system for mobile communication (GSM), code division multi access(CDMA), code division multi access 2000 (CDMA2000), enhanced voice-dataoptimized or enhanced voice-data only (EV-DO), wideband CDMA (WCDMA),high speed downlink packet access (HSPDA), high speed uplink packetaccess (HSUPA), IEEE802.16, long term evolution (LTE), long termevolution-advanced (LTE-A), wireless mobile broadband service (WMBS),Bluetooth, infrared data association (IrDA), ultra-wideband (UWB),ZigBee, near field communication (NFC), ultra sound communication (USC),visible light communication (VLC), Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi direct. Examples ofthe cable communication protocol include, but not limited to, wiredlocal area network (LAN), wired wide area network (WAN), power linecommunication (PLC), USB communication, Ethernet communication, serialcommunication, and optical/coaxial cable communication. Other protocolsthat support communication between devices fall within the definition ofthe communication protocol that is used in the present disclosure.

The processor 230 controls the overall operation of the vehicle 200. Theprocessor 230 controls the vehicle controller 240 on the basis of thedata transmitted from the sensor 210 and from the transceiver 220.According to embodiments, the processor 230 generates a control signalfor controlling the vehicle controller 240 on the basis of the datatransmitted from the infrastructure 100 and then transmits the controlsignal to the vehicle controller 240.

That is, the processor 230 refers to a device that performs a series ofcalculations or makes a series of determinations to control the vehicle200 and to perform automated valet parking. For example, the processor230 is a processor that operates according to a computer programincluding instructions for performing automated valet parking.

The vehicle controller 240 controls the vehicle 200 according to thedetermination made by the processor 230. According to embodiments, thevehicle controller 240 controls the vehicle 200 according to the controlsignal transmitted from the processor 230. For example, the vehiclecontroller 240 controls various vehicle operations such as driving,stopping, resuming to travel, steering, accelerating, decelerating, lamplighting, alarm sounding, etc.

That is, the vehicle controller 240 functions to control all kinds ofoperations of the vehicle 200 described herein.

On the other hand, although not described herein, the operations and/orfunctions of the vehicle 200 described in the description herein areperformed by the conjunction of one or more components selected fromamong the sensor 210, the transceiver 220, the processor 230, and thevehicle controller 240.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view illustrating an automated valet parkingsystem and an automated valet parking method according to one embodimentof the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, in step (1), a driver drives a vehicle to adrop-off area at which the driver will exit the vehicle after passingthrough the entrance of a parking lot.

In step (2), the driver exits the vehicle at the drop-off area and theauthority to drive or control the vehicle is delegated to theinfrastructure.

In step (3), the infrastructure searches for a vacant parking slot andassigns a suitable vacant parking slot to the vehicle. Theinfrastructure determines a guide route leading to the assigned vacantparking slot. After the parking slot and the guide route are determined,the vehicle autonomously travels along the guide route to reach theparking slot and performs autonomous parking to the parking slot.

In step (4), the driver claims his or her vehicle parked in the parkinglot and walks to a pickup area where the vehicle will be returned to thedriver.

In step (5), the infrastructure determines a suitable target position.For example, the suitable target position may be a vacant parking slotof multiple parking slots within the pickup area. The infrastructuredetermines a guide route which leads the claimed vehicle to the targetposition. After the target position and the guide route are determinedand transmitted to the vehicle, the vehicle autonomously travels alongthe guide route to reach the target position and performs autonomousparking.

In step (6), the driver arrives at the pickup area and takes over theauthority to drive the vehicle. The driver drives the vehicle toward theexit of the parking lot.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating operations for automated valetparking performed by an infrastructure and a vehicle.

In step (1), an automated valet parking preparation process isperformed. An infrastructure identifies a driver and a vehicle anddetermines whether the driver and the vehicle are qualified. Forexample, the infrastructure determines whether the driver is a qualifieddriver by reading an identification number (ID) or a password input bythe driver. In addition, the infrastructure determines whether thevehicle is a qualified vehicle by reading to a vehicle identificationnumber of the vehicle. The vehicle can turn on and off the enginethereof by itself. The vehicle can turn on and off a power supply byitself. For example, a state in which the engine of the vehicle isturned off and the power supply is turned on is referred to as anaccessary-on (ACC-On) state. The engine on/off and the power on/off ofthe vehicle are performed according to an instruction transmitted fromthe infrastructure or automatically performed without depending on theinstruction transmitted from the infrastructure. The vehicle can lockand unlock the doors by itself. The locking/unlocking of the vehicledoors is performed according to an instruction transmitted from theinfrastructure or is autonomously performed by the vehicle withoutdepending on the instruction from the infrastructure.

When the vehicle proceeds to an autonomous parking step, the doors ofthe vehicle may be locked. In addition, the driving authority of thevehicle is delegated to the infrastructure from the vehicle. The drivingauthority means an authority to perform the vehicle operations. Thevehicle operations include steering, accelerating, braking, gearshifting, ignition turning, and door locking and unlocking. Since thedriving authority of the vehicle is delegated to the infrastructure, theinfrastructure can take complete control of the vehicle during theautomated valet parking procedure of the vehicle. Accordingly, it ispossible to lower a risk that unintended vehicle operations occur and toprevent vehicle accidents in the parking lot. However, in some cases,the driving authority may be partially delegated to the infrastructureso that the vehicle can still control some of the vehicle operations, orthe driving authority may be shared by the vehicle and theinfrastructure.

For example, a braking operation may be performed when an emergencyoccurs during the automated valet parking procedure. Therefore, thevehicle may apply a brake without intervention of the infrastructurewhen the vehicle senses a danger with help of an ADAS sensor. Inaddition, the vehicle checks whether a person or animal is present inthe vehicle. Since a parking duration from the completion of theautomated valet parking to the discharging of the vehicle from a parkinglot is long, if a person or animal is accidently left in the vehiclewhile the vehicle is parked, the person or animal would be in danger.Therefore, it is important to ensure that the vehicle is empty beforethe vehicle is autonomously parked. Whether a person or animal ispresent in the vehicle is checked with a sensor mounted in the vehicle.

In step (2), a process of determining a target position, a guide route,and a driving route is performed. The determination of the targetposition, the guide route, and the driving route is performed by theinfrastructure. The target position, the guide route, and the drivingroute determined by the infrastructure are delivered from theinfrastructure to the vehicle.

The target position is a destination to be reached by the vehicle. Whena vehicle enters a parking lot, the target position may be a vacantparking slot in a parking zone of the parking lot. When a vehicle exitsa parking lot, the target position may be a vacant parking slot in thepickup area of the parking lot. Alternatively, the target position maybe a specific spot in the vicinity of a vacant parking slot. Forexample, when there are several vacant parking slots that are successivein a specific area of the parking lot, the target position may be aspecific spot in the vicinity of the specific area having the vacantparking slots. In this case, the vehicle autonomously travels to thespecific spot, and an autonomous parking function of an advanceddriver-assistance system (ADAS) mounted in the vehicle is activated sothat the vehicle can be parked in a desired parking slot in the vicinityof the specific spot. The autonomous parking function of the ADAS may bea partially automated parking system (PAPS). In this case, theefficiency of management of available parking spaces can be improved. Inthis case, it is not necessary for the infrastructure to accuratelycalculate the target position. That is, only rough estimation for thetarget position is desired. Therefore, it is possible to reducecomputing resources for data processing.

The guide route is a path along which the vehicle needs to autonomouslytravel. The guide route is provided to the vehicle in the form of aseries of instructions, such as traveling forward 10 meters straight,turning right at the first corner, traveling forward 20 meters straight,turning left, etc. Alternatively, the guide route is provided to thevehicle in the form of lines including straight lines and curved lineson a parking lot map. The lines indicate a driving lane from the currentposition to the target position on the parking lot map. Alternatively,the guide route is composed of multiple waypoints and one targetposition marked on a parking lot map. For example, the guide routeincludes three pillars A1, B2, an C3 as the multiple waypoints and aparking slot D23 as the target position. When the guide route isexpressed in the form of multiple waypoints and a target position ratherthan straight and/or curved lines, distance information (for example, 10m) is not required. Therefore, this guide route reduces the amount ofinformation for V2I communication.

In step (3), an autonomous driving operation is performed in the parkinglot. The autonomous driving of the vehicle includes traveling, stopping,and resuming to travel. The autonomous driving of the vehicle isperformed according to an instruction transmitted from theinfrastructure. Alternatively, the autonomous driving of the vehicle maybe performed without relying on the instruction from the infrastructure.The vehicle can autonomously travel to the target position along theguide route within the permitted driving area. During the driverlessautonomous driving of the vehicle, the vehicle is controlled to travelat a preset speed or below. This preset speed may be a value transmittedfrom the infrastructure to the vehicle or may be a value stored in thevehicle. In addition, the vehicle is controlled not to deviate from anerror margin of the given guide route when traveling along the guideroute. This preset error margin may be a value transmitted from theinfrastructure to the vehicle or may be a value stored in the vehicle.In addition, the vehicle may turn with a predetermined minimum turningradius when it is desired to turn during the autonomous driving alongthe guide route. This preset minimum turning radius may be a valuetransmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle or may be a valuestored in the vehicle. The vehicle is controlled not to exceed apredetermined maximum acceleration value when autonomously driving alongthe guide route. This preset maximum acceleration value may be a valuetransmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle or may be a valuestored in the vehicle.

In step (4), a position measurement operation is performed. The targetof the position measurement may be a vehicle to be parked in a parkinglot, an obstacle existing in the parking lot, or a vehicle that isparked in the parking lot. The infrastructure measures the position ofthe vehicle or the obstacle and store the measured position in adatabase. The infrastructure identifies and detects vehicles orobstacles and monitors the safety of each of the plurality of vehiclesin the parking lot. In addition, the infrastructure monitors theoperating state of the vehicle that is performing autonomous parkingafter reaching the target position and transmits an instruction on thebasis of the results of the monitoring. The vehicle measures itsposition. The vehicle transmits the measured position to theinfrastructure. The error of the position measured by the vehicle needsto be within a predetermined error range. The predetermined error rangeis determined by the infrastructure. The vehicle detects obstaclespresent around the vehicle, measures the positions of the obstacles, andtransmits the measured positions of the obstacles to the infrastructure.The frequency of communication between the vehicle and theinfrastructure is a predetermined frequency.

In step (5), an autonomous parking operation is performed by thevehicle. The autonomous parking refers to an operation in which thevehicle that has reached around the target position driverlessly entersa target vacant parking slot. The vehicle performs autonomous parking bysensing nearby obstacles or vehicles that are parked by using a distancesensor mounted on the vehicle. Examples of the distance sensor mountedon the vehicle include an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, a lidarsensor, and a camera.

In step (6), an emergency braking operation is performed. The emergencybraking of the vehicle is performed according to an instructiontransmitted from the infrastructure or may be performed by itself whenthe vehicle detects an obstacle. The infrastructure instructs thevehicle to apply an emergency brake when it is determined that an areaaround the vehicle is unsafe. When the infrastructure determines thatthe surroundings of the vehicle become safe after the emergency brakingis performed, the infrastructure instructs the vehicle to resumeautonomous driving or autonomous parking. When the vehicle detects anobstacle, the vehicle applies an emergency brake according to its owndetermination. In addition, the vehicle reports to the infrastructurethe emergency braking that is performed by itself or the type orlocation of an obstacle which is the cause of the emergency braking. Thevehicle reduces its speed according to a predetermined decelerationvalue preset for the emergency braking. This predetermined decelerationvalue is a value determined by the infrastructure or a value stored inthe vehicle. The predetermined deceleration value may be determinedaccording to the type of obstacle, the position of the obstacle, and thedistance between the vehicle and the obstacle. The vehicle resumesautonomous driving or autonomous parking upon receiving a resumptioninstruction for the autonomous driving or autonomous parking from theinfrastructure. Alternatively, the vehicle resumes the autonomousdriving or autonomous parking when it confirms that the obstacle isremoved. The vehicle reports to the infrastructure of the resumption ofautonomous driving or autonomous parking and of the removal of theobstacle.

In step (7), the automated valet parking procedure is finished. Afterthe vehicle has completed autonomous driving and autonomous parking, theinfrastructure issues a control release instruction to the vehicle. Thevehicle can turn on and off the engine and turn on and off the powersupply according to an instruction received from the infrastructure orwithout depending on the instruction from the infrastructure. Inaddition, the vehicle can lock and unlock the vehicle doors according toan instruction received from the infrastructure or without depending onthe instruction from the infrastructure. Further, the vehicle can applya parking brake according to an instruction received from theinfrastructure or without depending on the instruction from theinfrastructure.

In step (8), an error control operation is performed. The error controlis performed when an error occurs in communication between the vehicleand the infrastructure and/or when a mechanical error of the vehicleoccurs. The infrastructure monitors communication with the vehicle todetect whether a communication error occurs. The vehicle detects acommunication error by monitoring the communication with theinfrastructure. The vehicle detects whether a mechanical error occurs bymonitoring operating states of built-in accessories including sensorsmounted thereon. The vehicle detects the presence of a person or animalin the vehicle and applies an emergency brake when the presence of aperson or animal is detected. The vehicle resumes autonomous parking orautonomous driving according to an instruction received from theinfrastructure when the vehicle is in an emergency stop state.Alternatively, the vehicle may determine, by itself, whether the causeof the emergency braking is removed and resumes autonomous parking orautonomous driving when the cause of the emergency parking is removed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a communication process performedbetween the infrastructure for automated valet parking and a vehicleaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

In step (1), vehicle qualification information is delivered from thevehicle to the infrastructure. The vehicle qualification informationincludes an identifier that distinguishes each vehicle from othervehicles. For example, the vehicle qualification information may be aunique vehicle number (for example, license plate number) of thevehicle. The vehicle qualification information is transmitted when anautomated valet parking preparation process is performed after thevehicle enters a parking lot (see bracketed reference numeral (1) ofFIG. 4A).

In step (2), an automated valet parking preparation instruction istransmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle. The automated valetparking preparation instruction is transmitted before the autonomousdriving of the vehicle begins.

In step (3), vehicle information is transmitted from the vehicle to theinfrastructure. The vehicle information includes state information ofthe vehicle and position information of the vehicle. The stateinformation of the vehicle includes whether the vehicle is traveling,whether the vehicle is stopped, or whether the vehicle is in anemergency stop state. The vehicle information is transmittedperiodically at a specific frequency (for example, 1 Hz which means onceper second). The vehicle information is used as a parameter to determinewhether a communication error has occurred between the vehicle and theinfrastructure. For example, when the vehicle information does not reachthe infrastructure at a predetermined time that is estimated accordingto the communication frequency, the infrastructure determines that anerror has occurred in communication between the vehicle and theinfrastructure.

In step (4), an acknowledgement of the reception of the vehicleinformation is transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle. Theacknowledgement of the reception of the vehicle information istransmitted at the same frequency as the transmission of the vehicleinformation that is transmitted in step (3). Therefore, theacknowledgement of the reception of the vehicle information is used as aparameter to determine whether an error has occurred in communicationbetween the vehicle and the infrastructure. For example, when thevehicle information does not reach the infrastructure at a predeterminedtime that is estimated according to the communication frequency, theinfrastructure determines that an error has occurred in communicationbetween the vehicle and the infrastructure.

In step (5), a target position and a guide route are delivered from theinfrastructure to the vehicle. The delivery of the target position andthe guide route may be performed either before or after an automatedvalet parking start instruction is transmitted from the infrastructureto the vehicle.

In step (6), driving-area boundary information is transmitted to thevehicle from the infrastructure. The driving-area boundary informationincludes landmarks (for examples, lines demarcating parking slots, acentral line, and road boundary lines demarcating a driving lane) thatmark the boundaries of a permitted driving area. The transmission of thedriving-area boundary information is performed after the automated valetparking preparation instruction is delivered. This driving-area boundaryinformation is transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle in theform of a parking lot map.

In step (7), the automated valet parking start instruction istransmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle. The transmission ofthe automated valet parking start instruction is performed after theguide route and the driving-area boundary information are delivered.Alternatively, the automated valet parking start instruction istransmitted when the cause of the emergency braking is removed.

In step (8), an emergency brake instruction is transmitted to thevehicle from the infrastructure.

In step (9), a vehicle control release instruction is transmitted to thevehicle from the infrastructure. The delivery of the vehicle controlrelease instruction is performed after the vehicle is autonomouslyparked in a parking slot.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a communication process performedbetween an infrastructure 100 for automated valet parking and a vehicle200.

In step (1), the vehicle 200 enters a parking lot and stops at apredetermined stop position. This stop position may be an entrance gateof the parking lot. The vehicle 200 reports its arrival to theinfrastructure 100. In step (2), the infrastructure 100 measures thedimensions of the vehicle 200 and authenticates the vehicle 200 on thebasis of an authentication ID of the vehicle 200. In step (3), theinfrastructure 100 transmits an authentication ID submission request tothe vehicle 200. In step (4), the vehicle 200 transmits theauthentication ID to the infrastructure 100. In step (5), theinfrastructure 100 determines whether to allow entry of the vehicle 200into the parking lot on the basis of the received authentication ID. Instep (6), the infrastructure 100 notifies the vehicle whether thevehicle 200 is permitted to enter the parking lot according to theresults of the authentication. For example, the infrastructure 100display a message indicating approval or disapproval on a display panelinstalled around the stop position. The driver drives the vehicle 200 toa drop-off area when the entry of the vehicle into the parking lot isapproved. In step (7), the driver turns off the ignition of the vehicle200, gets off the vehicle 200, locks the vehicle doors, and leaves thedrop-off area. In step (8), the authority to drive the vehicle 200 isdelegated from the vehicle 200 (or the driver) to the infrastructure100. In addition, in step (9), the infrastructure 100 notifies thedriver that it takes the authority to control the vehicle 200 in theparking lot. Such a notification is sent to a driver's smart devicethrough a mobile communication network.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a communication process performedbetween an infrastructure 100 for automated valet parking and a vehicle200.

In step (1), the infrastructure 100 transmits a vehicle starting requestto the vehicle 200 such that the vehicle 200 turns on the ignition. Instep (2), the vehicle 200 turns on the ignition according to the vehiclestarting request transmitted from the infrastructure 100. In step (3),the vehicle 200 turns on the ignition and then notifies theinfrastructure 100 that the ignition is turned on 100. In step (4), theinfrastructure 100 transmits an automated valet parking preparationrequest to the vehicle 200. In step (5), the vehicle 200 transmits areply to the automated valet parking preparation request to theinfrastructure 100. The replay is a message of OK indicating that thepreparation for automated valet parking is completed or a message of NGindicating that the preparation for automated valet parking is notcompleted. In step (6), the infrastructure 100 transmits asynchronization request to the vehicle 200. The synchronization requestis a request for instructing synchronization of the time such that thetimer of the infrastructure 100 is synchronized with the timer of thevehicle 200. For example, the synchronization request includesinformation about time indicated by the timer of the infrastructure 100.In step (7), the vehicle 200 performs the synchronization according tothe synchronization request. In step (8), the vehicle 200 transmits areplay indicating that the synchronization is completed to theinfrastructure 100. For example, until the synchronization between theinfrastructure 100 and the vehicle 200 is completed, a plurality ofsynchronization requests may be transmitted from the infrastructure 100to the vehicle 200. In step (9), the infrastructure 100 transmitsparking lot map information to the vehicle 200. The parking lot mapinformation includes landmark information. In step (10), the vehicle 200estimates (or calculates) the position of the vehicle 200 on the basisof the transmitted landmark information, and the vehicle 200 transmitsthe estimated position of the vehicle 200 to the infrastructure 100. Instep (11), the infrastructure 100 determines a target position (parkingposition). In step (12), the infrastructure 100 transmits information ona permitted driving area to the vehicle 200. For example, theinfrastructure 100 transmits boundary information of the permitteddriving area to the vehicle 200. In step (13), the infrastructure 100transmits a guide route to the vehicle 200. In step (14), theinfrastructure 100 transmits an automated valet parking startinstruction to the vehicle 200.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an automated valet parking methodaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to the present disclosure, the infrastructure 100 performs astep S810 of generating an virtual leading vehicle, a step S820 ofgenerating an virtual lane, and a step S830 of transmitting a guideroute.

Specifically, according to the present disclosure, the guide routeincludes virtual leading vehicle information and virtual laneinformation.

The virtual leading vehicle information is information on a virtualvehicle that does not physically exist but is imagined to lead an actualvehicle that is in the process of performing automated valet parking.The virtual leading vehicle information is information on a virtualvehicle that does not physically exist and which is generated by theinfrastructure. For example, the virtual leading vehicle may be avirtual vehicle that leads an autonomous valet parking vehicle in apredetermined distance. As described below, the autonomous valet parkingvehicle autonomously travels while following the virtual leading vehicleby using an advanced cruise control (ACC) function, which is alsoreferred to as a smart cruise control (SCC) function, of the ADAS. Theautonomous valet parking vehicle can autonomously travel by followingthe virtual leading vehicle using the built-in ADAS. In addition, sincethe autonomous valet parking vehicle uses a feature provided therein toperform autonomous driving, it is possible to reduce the burden ofcomputations and data processing loaded on the infrastructure. Inaddition, when information on the virtual leading vehicle andinformation on another autonomous valet parking vehicle that iscurrently driving together are considered, the possibility of collisionbetween the autonomous valet parking vehicles can be reduced.

The virtual lane information is information on a virtual lane thatactually does not exist in the parking lot unlike the actual lane alongwhich the autonomous valet parking vehicle travels. That is, the virtuallane information is information on a virtual lane that is not actuallydrawn on the ground of the parking lot and is information on the lanethat is virtually generated by the infrastructure. For example, thevirtual lane has the same width or the same color as the actual lanedrawn on the actual road. The width or color of the virtual lane can bepreset by the infrastructure. As described below, the autonomous valetparking vehicle can autonomously travel without deviating from thevirtual lane by using a lane following assistance (LFA) function, whichis also called a lane keeping assistance system (LKAS), of the ADAS. Theautonomous valet parking vehicle can autonomously travel by followingthe virtual lane using the built-in ADAS. In addition, since theautonomous valet parking vehicle uses a feature provided therein toperform autonomous driving, it is possible to reduce the burden ofcomputations and data processing loaded on the infrastructure. Inaddition, when the virtual lane information and information on anotherautonomous valet parking vehicle that is parked are considered, thepossibility of collision between an autonomous valet parking vehiclethat is autonomously traveling and an autonomous valet parking vehiclethat is parked can be reduced.

The vehicle activates the advanced driver assistance (ADAS) mounted onthe vehicle in step S840. For example, the activated ADAS includes thecruise control function (ACC, SCC), the lane keeping assistance function(LFA, LKAS), and the partially automated parking system (PAPS).

The vehicle performs autonomous driving in step S850. The ADAS that isactivated when the vehicle performs autonomous driving includes thecruise control function and the lane keeping function. That is, thevehicle uses the cruise control to follow the virtual leading vehicleand the lane keeping assistance function to follow the virtual lane.

The vehicle performs autonomous parking in step S860. That is, when thevehicle reaches the target position, the vehicle performs the autonomousparking to a vacant parking slot by using the partial autonomous parkingfunction.

Finally, the vehicle reports to the infrastructure that parking iscompleted in step S870.

Recent vehicles are equipped with an around view monitoring (AVM)function. The AVM is a function of displaying the images of the front,left, right and rear of the vehicle on a display device mounted in thevehicle. The AVM is a function that assists the driver in driving andparking. According to the present disclosure, the virtual leadingvehicle and the virtual lane may be superimposed on the images displayedon the display device, and the superimposed images may be stored in thevehicle. In this case, when an accident occurs in the parking lot, it iseasy to find the cause of the accident. In addition, according to thepresent disclosure, the images on the display device mounted in thevehicle can be transmitted in real time to the smartphone of the driverwho is not seated in the vehicle. Therefore, the driver (owner) of thevehicle can monitor the vehicle that is currently under automated valetparking in real time.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functions may beimplemented in the form of hardware, software, firmware, or anycombination thereof. When implemented in the form of software, thesefunctions may be stored on or transmitted to a computer-readable mediumin the form of one or more instructions or codes. The computer-readablemedium refers to any medium that can transfer a computer program fromone computer to another. For example, it may be a communication mediumor a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium may be anarbitrary medium that can be accessed by a computer. Thecomputer-readable media include, not limitedly, RAMs, ROMs, EEPROMs,optical discs such as CD-ROM, magnetic disks, and any media that can beaccessed by computers and which can be used to transfer a computerprogram in the form of instructions from one place to another. Thecomputer-readable media are appropriately referred to as media that canbe arbitrarily accessed by computers. For example, software can betransferred from a website, server or other remote sources through acable or over a wireless channel. Examples of the cables include coaxialcable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair cable, and digital subscriberline (DSL). Examples of the wireless channel include infrared frequencywaves, radio frequency waves, and ultrahigh frequency waves. In thiscase, the coaxial cable, the fiber optic cable, the twisted pair cable,the DL, and the wireless channels fall within the definition of themedium. The disks or discs include a compact disc (CD), a laser disc(LD), an optical disc (OD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppydisk (FD), and a blu-ray disc. Discs generally refer to media from whichdata is optically read and disks refer to media from which data ismagnetically read. Combinations of the above-mentioned media also fallwithin the definition of the computer-readable medium.

When embodiments are implemented as program code or code segments, thecode segment may be a procedure, function, subprogram, program, routine,subroutine, module, software package, class, instructions, datastructures, program command strings, or an arbitrary set of programcommand strings. One code segment may be connected with another codesegment or a hardware circuit in a manner of transmitting and receivinginformation, data, arguments, parameters, or memory content.Information, arguments, parameters, data, and the like may be delivered,sent, or transmitted using any suitable means such as memory sharing,message delivery, token delivery, network transmission, and the like. Inaddition, in some aspects, steps and/or operations of a method oralgorithm may reside on a mechanically readable medium and/or acomputer-readable medium in the form of a combination or set of one ormore codes and/or one or more instructions that can be integrated into acomputer program product.

When implemented as software, the techniques described herein can beimplemented as modules (for examples, procedures, functions, etc.) thatperform the functions described herein. Software codes may be stored ina memory unit and may be executed by a processor. The memory unit may beembedded in a processor or may be provided outside a processor. In thiscase, the memory unit may be communicatively connected with theprocessor by various means known in the art.

When implemented as hardware, processing units may be implemented as oneor more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors,electronic devices designed to perform the functions described herein,or any combination of these.

The above-mentioned ones include one or more exemplary embodiments. Ofcourse, the above-described embodiments do not cover all possiblecombinations of components and/or methods to implement the presentdisclosure. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that manyfurther combinations and substitutions of components and/or methods invarious embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the above-describedembodiments cover all such alterations, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Moreover,as to the scope of the terms “comprises” used in the detaileddescription or the appended claims, it is noted that it is similarlyinterpreted as “comprising” that is used as a transitional word in theclaims.

As used herein, the term “infer” or “inferencing” generally refers to aprocess of determining or inferring a state of a system, environment,and/or user from a set of observations of events and/or data.Inferencing can be used to identify a specific situation or action, orcan generate a probability distribution of certain states, for example.Inferencing is probabilistic. That is, inferencing may mean acalculation of a probability distribution of those states, based onstudy on data and events. Inferencing may involve techniques used toconstruct a higher level event from a set of events and/or data. Theinferencing refers to a process of inferring new events or actions froma set of observed events and/or stored event data, determining whetherevents are closely correlated in time, and determining whether theevents and data come from one or several events and data sources.

Moreover, terms such as “component”, “module”, and “system” used hereinmay refer to, but not limitedly, hardware, firmware, any combination ofhardware and software, software, or a computer entity associated withsoftware being executed therein. For example, the term “component” mayrefer to, not limitedly, a process running on a processor, a processor,an object, an executable thread, a program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a computing device and thecomputing device itself may fall within the definition of the component.One or more components may reside within a process and/or an executionthread. One or more components may be collectively provided in onecomputer or distributed in two or more computers. In addition, thesecomponents can be executed on various computer readable media havingvarious data structures stored thereon. Components can communicate asignal containing one or more data packets (for example, data from anarbitrary component that interacts with a local system, a component of adistributed system, and/or other systems on the basis of a signal thatis transmitted over a network such as Internet) with a local and/orremote process.

What is claimed is:
 1. An automated valet parking method comprising:initiating an automated valet parking procedure; determining, by aninfrastructure, a target position and a guide route to the targetposition; transmitting, by the infrastructure, the target position andthe guide route to a vehicle through a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)communication; receiving, by the vehicle, the target position and theguide route to the target position through the V2I communication;performing, by the vehicle, autonomous driving toward the targetposition along the guide route; performing, by the vehicle, autonomousparking to the target position; and ending the automated valet parkingprocedure, wherein initiating the automated valet parking procedurecomprises: receiving, by the infrastructure, a command to hand over anauthority of the vehicle to the infrastructure, and transmitting, by theinfrastructure, a signal notifying a result of acquiring the authorityof the vehicle to a user device of the vehicle.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the target position includes a destination to bereached by the vehicle, and the destination includes a vacant parkingslot in a parking lot.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein thetarget position includes a destination to be reached by the vehicle, andthe destination includes a specific spot in the vicinity of a vacantparking slot in a parking lot.
 4. The method according to claim 3,wherein the vehicle autonomously performs autonomous parking to thetarget position by using an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS)after reaching the specific spot.
 5. The method according to claim 4,wherein the ADAS includes a partially automated parking system (PAPS).6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the guide route isinformation including distances and vehicle operations, and the vehicleoperations include traveling forward, traveling backward, turning left,and turning right.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the guideroute includes a parking lot map on which a plurality of waypoints andthe target position are present.
 8. The method according to claim 1,wherein transmitting the target position and guide route comprises:generating a virtual leading vehicle; generating a virtual lane; andtransmitting the virtual leading vehicle and the virtual lane.
 9. Themethod according to claim 8, wherein performing the autonomous drivingcomprises activating an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). 10.The method according to claim 9, wherein the ADAS is configured toperform an adaptive cruise control (ACC) and a lane following assistance(LFA).
 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein performing theautonomous parking comprises activating an advanced driver assistancesystem (ADAS).
 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the ADAScomprises a partially automated parking system (PAPS).
 13. Anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a programrecorded thereon, the program to direct a processor to perform acts of:initiating an automated valet parking procedure; determining, by aninfrastructure, a target position and a guide route to the targetposition; transmitting, by the infrastructure, the target position andthe guide route to a vehicle through a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)communication; receiving, by the vehicle, the target position and theguide route to the target position through the V2I communication;performing, by the vehicle, autonomous driving toward the targetposition along the guide route; performing, by the vehicle, autonomousparking to the target position; and ending the automated valet parkingprocedure, wherein initiating the automated valet parking procedurecomprises: receiving, by the infrastructure, a command to hand over anauthority of the vehicle to the infrastructure, and transmitting, by theinfrastructure, a signal notifying a result of acquiring the authorityof the vehicle to a user device of the vehicle.
 14. A vehicle capable ofperforming automated valet parking by communicating with aninfrastructure, the vehicle comprising: a sensor configured to sense asurrounding environment of the vehicle; a transceiver configured toreceive, from the infrastructure, a target position and a guide routethrough a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, wherein thetarget position and the guide route are determined by theinfrastructure; a processor configured to initiate an automated valetparking procedure, and control an autonomous driving operation of thevehicle based on the guide route, and an autonomous parking operation ofthe vehicle based on the target position; and a vehicle controllerconfigured to control the vehicle with a control signal provided by theprocessor, wherein an authority of the vehicle is delegated to from thevehicle to the infrastructure by a command of a driver at the initiationof the automated valet parking procedure.
 15. The vehicle according toclaim 14, wherein the target position comprises a destination to bereached by the vehicle, and the destination comprises a vacant parkingslot in a parking lot.
 16. The vehicle according to claim 14, whereinthe target position comprises a destination to be reached by thevehicle, and the destination comprises a specific spot in the vicinityof a vacant parking slot in a parking lot.
 17. The vehicle according toclaim 14, wherein the guide route comprises a parking lot map on which aplurality of waypoints and the target position are present.